History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 139

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

USA > Pennsylvania > Mercer County > History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present > Part 139

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

JOHN VERNAM, retired farmer, post-office Jackson Centre, was born Novem- ber 10, 1824, in England, to Jobn Vernam, who was born in Philadelphia, and

1017

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

went to England, where he married Sarah Bott, and with her and children: William, Thomas, John, Mary A., Charles and Emma, came to America in 1831, and settled where William Orr now lives. He had only $10 left when he settled in this wild country. He and his wife died in this township, and were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our subject attended the common schools but a short time. He began for himself at the age of twenty-four years, buying at that time fifty acres of land in Worth Township. He bought small tracts at various times, and now owns nearly 300 acres, the result of his own labors. He has been a remarkably strong man, having cleared about 300 acres, worked at 622 cents per day, hauled tan-bark to Mercer with ox teams, and has gone through the many hardships that sur- round the struggles of the early settlers. He and his brother, Francis, cradled, bound and shocked 100 dozen sheaves of wheat in one day, and repeated the act a second time. He at one time engaged in burning lime for Jacob Jones, and fired every other night for twelve consecutive nights, which was ample test of his strong constitution. He married Elizabeth Clark, daughter of Abram Clark, a soldier of the War of 1812, and by her has William, married Melinda Zahniser, two children, Myrtle and Mary; Ann, married William Orr, and has three children, Charles, Alfred and Lily; John H., married Ann Garvin, three children, John, Wendall and Nellie; Lucinda C., married Wilbert Wharton, two children, Burdell and Winnie; James L., Thomas, married Ella Hess, and has one child, Ray. May, the daughter of James L., lives with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Vernam. Our subject has given each of his four boys a farm worth $3,000. He has bought and sold stock with success. He and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and he was a trustee of the same when the present elegant edifice was erected. He, A. Silveus and brother Francis took the contract to burn the brick for same. He is a Dem- ocrat.

THE WILSONS OF JACKSON TOWNSHIP .- William Wilson, the ancestor of the Wilson Family, of Jackson Township, came to Mercer County in 1796, and settled on the farm where his grandson, William Wilson, now resides. His family consisted of wife and five children: William, Samuel, Betsey, Peggy and Rebecca. William married Ellen Downs; Samuel married Rachel Meel; Peggy married Henry Guess; Rebecca married Joseph Turney; Betsey never married. When William Wilson located in Jackson Township the red men were their nearest neighbors, and passed their cabin every day on their way to Sandusky to trade. Mr. Wilson was a Revolutionary soldier, and witnessed the execution of Maj. Andre. His son William was born in 1792, and came with the family to this county when four years of age. He underwent the various hardships that made up the life of the pioneers, not the least irksome of which was a large amount of clearing which fell upon him because of the inclination of his brothers to hunt the numerous deer and other wild animals that abounded in the forests. He was married, in 1833, to Ellen Downs, by whom he had the following children. William, John, Samuel, Mary, Marga- ret. Seven others died in childhood. William married Amanda M. Wingard; John married Elizabeth Mowry; Samuel married Margaret Kerr; Margaret married John W. Maxwell, and Mary married Simon Wingard. William Wil- son cast bis first vote with the Democratic party, and continued to do so until 1860, when he joined the Republican party and gave it his hearty support till the time of his death, which occurred September 18, 1878. He was a soldier. of the War of 1812. His son, William, who resides on the old homestead, was born December 25, 1836, on the farm now owned and occupied by him, and was married September 7, 1871, to Amanda M. Wingard, by whom he

1018

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

has four children: Henry E., William R., Myrtle M., Nelson F. He went to California in 1864. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has since been identified with the Republican party.

THE ZAHNISERS. - One of the prominent families in the development of Mercer County is the Zahnisers. Valentine Zahniser, the progenitor of all these, lived in Germany. Being in poor health, his physician advised an ocean voyage. He concluded to come to America with his family, which consisted of his wife-Julia Ann Clemens-and two children, Matthias (born in 1749) and the other unnamed. The father and the nameless child died on board the ship, but the mother and Matthias came to America, landing at Philadelphia in 1753, and thence going to Lancaster. Matthias was then four years of age. Mrs. Zahniser married in Lancaster a man named Henry Stout. In 1789 she (a widow a second time) removed to Allegheny County with Matthias, who had married, in 1774, Mary Lint; in 1797 she landed in Mercer County. Matthias arrived in the summer of that year, and made an improvement, consisting of the clearing of five acres. This was on the farm (250 acres) now owned and occupied by William A. and John Ira Zahniser. At the time of his arrival, in the spring of 1797, the only neighbors were John McMillan, John McDonald, George Myers, Daniel Harper, James Rice, Joseph Alexander, Thomas Mc- Clain, Benjamin Stokely (came in 1796), Francis Huey, Thomas and Charles McBride, Andrew and Robert McClure, Thomas and Jabez Coulson, William Wilson, Peter Wilson, William Parker, Thomas and William McMillan. These all settled within a radius of four or five miles of the site occupied by Zahniser. Stokely was the only one that came in 1796, the others arriving in 1797 and perhaps in 1798. Matthias Zahniser had seven sons and one daugh- ter that came to Mercer County: Matthias, Michael, John, Valentine, William, Jacob, David and Mary. They all lived in Mercer County, and reared fami- lies, except John, who died about 1800. Matthias, Michael and John settled farms in what is now Lake and Jackson Townships. Matthias lived in Jef- ferson Township after 1807 (prior to that time in Jackson). His family con- sisted of his wife Dorothy (Fry) Zahniser and these children: John, Matthias, Michael, Mary, Henry, David, Samuel, Julia, Ann and Susan. Michael mar-

ried Mary Mourer April 29, 1806. Their children were: Jacob, born May 28, 1807; Mary, born December 24, 1808; William, born January 26, 1811; John, born May 25, 1813; David, born August 1, 1815; Catherine, born October 28, 1821. Valentine married Elizabeth White in 1806. Children: May, John W., Sarah, James, Jacob N., Rebecca, Andrew Shulze and Mary. William mar- ried Eleanor Stopler in 1814. Children: John L., Andrew J., Michael, Will- iam North, Catherine, Valentine, Bythinia and Richard M. J. Jacob married Catherine Wright in 1816. Children: Margaret, William, George W., Jacob, Michael and Mary. David married Nancy Coulson in 1818. Children: Mat- thias, Lint, Jacob W., Eleanor, Aaron, Thomas, Mary and David R. P. Mary married Joshua McCracken April 1, 1817. Children: Alexander, Mary, Isa- bella and David.

JACOB ZAHNISER, post-office North's Mills, son of Michael and Mary (Mourer) Zahniser, was born May 28, 1807, in Lake Township, Mercer County. He mar- ried Melinda Smith, daughter of George Smith and Rebecca (Cole) Smith, on the 21st of October, 1834. From this union have sprung these children: Henry Mar- tin, married to Elizabeth De France; Rebecca Cole, married to John North; William Fleming, married to Martha Magee; George Michael, married to Margaret J. Rambo; Mary Mourer, married to Richard Hess; Milton Bird, mar- ried to Rose McCurdy; Margaret Jane, married to James W. Mccullough; Melinda, married to William H. Vernam; Jacob Murphy, married to Jennie

1019

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Runkle. Three also died in infancy. Mr. Zahniser has held several places of public trust. He was county auditor in 1831, a justice of the peace from 1840 to 1850, and the county surveyor in 1857 and 1858. Besides he has acted as township assessor, clerk and judge of elections, and been a member of the board of school directors. His leading occupation has been that of a farm- er, though he has been a successful teacher of the youth in public schools. In 1827 he was a clerk in Hackney's store in Mercer, and in 1828-29 held a similar position at Williamsfield, Ohio. Politically Mr. Zahniser was a mem- ber of the Anti-Masonic party, then a Democrat, but since the organization of

the Republican party in 1855 he has been identified with that organization. He was identified with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church from 1842 to 1865, since which time he has been connected with the Cool Spring Presby -

terian. Mrs. Zahniser was born May 6, 1816, near Big Bend, in Delaware Township. Her father and mother came from Virginia to Hubbard, Ohio, thence to Delaware Township, then to Fairview, and subsequently to Worth. Mr. and Mrs. Zahniser are still living, in good health, upon their farm in Jack- son Township, respected by all who know them.

A. J. ZAHNISER, farmer, post-office North's Mills, was born July 27, 1818, in Mercer County, to William, born in Lancaster County, Penn., who came to Mercer County, and subsequently married Eleanor Statler, a native of the

same county. She came to Allegheny County with her parents, Rudolph and Barbara (Scroggs) Statler. There she was married to William Zahniser, and settled with him in what was then Cool Spring. He died May 7, 1856, and she March 17, 1852. Their children were: J. L., A. J., Michael, W. N., Katharine, Valentine, Bithynia and R. M. J. The father of our subject was in the War of 1812, and made several trips to Erie and Fort Meigs. A. J. Zahniser was educated in a log school-house, with split puncheon floors, greased paper windows, open end fire-place and log or split puncheon seats. He worked on the farm till he was twenty years of age. He then taught school in the winter seasons, and worked on farms in the summer, for a time. He afterward worked in a still-house making whisky in the winter, and wooded plows in the summer, for three years. He bought 105 acres of land in 1842, known as the Warden farm, and now owns 185 acres. He then went to improving his farm, and has continued on it to the present time. He was married in 1848 to Nancy J. Hosack, daughter of Col. Thomas Hosack, and by her had one child, who died in 1851. Its mother died the same year. He was never married again, his sister, Mrs. James J. Hosack, having kept house for him since. She has three children: Eleanor, Thomas and W. J. Our subject has filled all the important offices of the township, and has filled other posts of trust.

JOHN L. ZAHNISER, farmer, post-office Jackson Centre, was born April 11, 1816. in Mercer County, Penn., to William, who married Eleanor Statler, mentioned in the sketch of A. J. Zahniser. Our subject was educated in the pioneer log cabin sufficiently to teach nine terms, the first term being con- ducted in an old dwelling known as the Craig house, in 1836. June 4, 1846, he was married to Lucy North, a sister of John North, whose sketch appears elsewhere. She was born October 16, 1822, in Sandy Lake Township, and has blessed her husband with eleven children: Amanda M., William N., Elizabeth, R. J., John M., Samuel S., Mary E., Kate M., Daniel W., Eva L., and George A., a teacher. Mr. Zahniser has served as county auditor one term, township assessor, auditor, school director twenty-nine years, and was thirty years a justice of the peace. His estimable wife is a consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Jackson Township Live Stock Insurance Company, and is a Democrat.

1020

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

D. R. P. ZAHNISER, farmer, post-office North's Mills, was born July 8, 1838, in Mercer County, to David and Ann (Coulson) Zahniser. The former was born April 19, 1795, and died October 14, 1874; the latter was born May 21, 1796, and died June 20, 1850. Their children were: Matthias, born Septem- ber 20, 1819; Lint, born December 2, 1821; William W., born September 16, 1823; Jacob W., born June 22, 1826; Eleanor, born June 24, 1829; Aaron, born July 10, 1831; Thomas, born May 6, 1833; Mary M., born December 9, 1835, and D. R. P. The parents were members of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church, and the father was a Democrat. D. R. P. received a common- school education, and was married February 9, 1875, to Mrs. Josephine Osborn, the widow of William Osborn, who died July 9, 1872, and was the father of James, born November 13, 1866; Plummer, born August 18, 1867; John, born December 10, 1869, died in 1870, and William F., born January 28, 1872. Mrs. Zahniser is a daughter of J. L. Byers, and was born February 9, 1847. The father of our subject was for many years a blacksmith by trade, and by economy was able before his death to give his son 100 acres of arable- land, on which he now resides. He and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and he is a Republican.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

BIOGRAPHIES OF WOLF CREEK, PINE AND LIBERTY.

WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP.

M ICHAEL BARDON, farmer, post-office Centretown, is a son of William and Catherine(Sadlen) Bardon, natives of Lawrence County. About 1848 they came to this county, and located on the farm now owned by our subject. The father died January 17, 1888, and his wife in 1879, leaving two children: Catherine, Mrs. James Sterrett, of Deer Creek Township, and our subject, who was born in Lawrence County in 1842. He has never married, and since the death of his father has continued to live on the farm. He is a mem- ber of Amity Presbyterian Church.

SAMUEL COLEMAN, deceased, was a son of Ephraim and Annie (Albin) Cole- man. Nathaniel Coleman, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of New Jersey and settled near Millbrook, in Worth Township, some time pre- vious to 1800, where he engaged in farming. The father of our subject was born in New Jersey, and was quite young when brought to this county by his parents. After marriage he settled on a tract of land now in Wolf Creek Township, where he died in 1826. His family consisted of two children: Jane, Mrs. D. F. Courtney, of Liberty Township, and our subject. His wife sur- vived him, and afterward married Valentine Giebner, of this township, and had by him several children. She died July 24, 1874. Our subject was born in 1822, on the homestead, and received his education in the public schools of that period, and by his own efforts at home. He taught school during the winter, and worked at farming in the summer for a number of years. In 1849 he married Mary Ann, daughter of Hon. Robert and Nancy (Coleman) Patter- son, of this township, and by this union had six children: Emeline, Mrs. J. C. Montgomery, of Pine Township; Mary Bell, Mrs. William C. Miller, of Pine

1021

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Township; Ephraim V., Robert J., Jason G. and Stella are living with their mother on the homestead. Our subject held several township offices, and for many years was a justice of the peace. About 1854 he was appointed post- master of Centretown and held that office until 1872. He was identified with the old Whig party, and for many years was the leading spirit of the Repub- lican party in his neighborhood. He belonged, with his family, to the Amity Presbyterian Church. He died November 10, 1886, and is buried in the Union Home Cemetery. His family live on the homestead, near Centretown, in an elegant residence with beautiful grounds, and possess an ample greenhouse filled with the choicest plants. It is all the result of the labor of a man who took pride in surrounding himself and family with the pleasant things of life.

JACOB T. CRAIG, farmer, post-office Pardoe, is a son of Francis and Annie (Powell) Craig. James Craig, the grandfather of our subject, was of Scotch- Irish descent, and he and four of his brothers were early settlers of Delaware, and about 1798 they all removed into this county and settled on Wolf Creek. The father of our subject was born in this county about 1798, and served in the War of 1812. He was always engaged in farming, and died in 1857. His widow died in 1872. They reared a family of six children: Isabella, married Jacob Patterson, of Butler County, Penn., and died in 1861; James B. and Francis S., of Grove City; William, of Butler County, David P., of Aus- tralia, and our subject, who was born in what is now Pine Township September 21, 1829. He was educated in the log school-houses, and has always been en- gaged in farming. In 1857 he married Hannah Hosack, daughter of James and Sarah (Rose) Irwin, and widow of Thomas Hosack, of Findley Township. By her first husband Mrs. Craig had two children: Mary Adeline Hosack, Mrs. John Campbell, of Grove City, and Harriet Rebecca Hosack, Mrs. Harry Brigham, of Franklin, Venango County. Our subject has six living children: Sarah Martha, David Francis, Matthew Irwin, James Taylor, Charles B. and Homer Griffith, all at home. He and family are members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Hazzard, of which he is steward. In 1873 he moved onto his present farm, where they have since resided.

ARCHIBALD CRAWFORD, farmer, post-office Pardoe, is a son of Luke and Sarah (Donaldson) Crawford. The father was a native of Ireland, an early settler in Allegheny County, Penn. The mother was born in the eastern part of this State. Her father was one of the earliest settlers in Allegheny County, Penn., and brought a colony with him. In 1836 Hugh D. Crawford, an older brother of our subject, located on a tract of land in this county, three miles south of Mercer, and in 1838 the other members of the family followed, and located on a tract of land purchased from Joseph Kerr. They engaged in farming, and the father died a few years afterward. His wife died in Jan- uary, 1872. They reared a family of fifteen children, six of whom are living: Hugh D., of Mercer; Jane; Swickley; Samuel, of East Liberty, Allegheny County; our subject; Irwin, of Franklin, Venango County. Our subject was born in Allegheny County, Penn., December 23, 1820, came to this county with his parents in 1838, and has always been engaged in farming. In 1878 he was elected commissioner of the county and served three years. Has held the office of justice of the peace of Wolf Creek Township for ten years, school director for over twenty-one years, and has served in other township offices. He was married in 1852 to Miss Mary J. McChesney, daughter of Samuel and Esther (Barnes) McChesney, of Findley Township. They have by their union five living children: Samuel M., living on a part of the homestead, married to Sadie M. McMillan, daughter of John McMillan, of Grove City, and has two children, Mamie and Plummer; Prof. Robert D., principal of the Tidioute

1022

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

schools, Warren County, Penn., married Hattie Blystone, of Edinboro, and has three children: George and Florence (twins) and Josephine; John H., of this township, married Sadie Giebner, daughter of J. T. Giebner, Esq., of Sharon; Esther, Ella and Sadie A. are at home. Our subject and family are members of the Springfield United Presbyterian Church. He held the office of elder of said church for twenty years. Mr. Crawford's father was a Demo- crat, but he and sons and brothers vote the Republican ticket.

D. C. EAKIN, merchant, Centretown, is a son of James and Adeline (Mur- dock) Eakin, of Venango County, Penn., where our subject was born in 1842. In 1864 he enlisted in Company B, Eighty-third Regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was reared on a farm, and followed lumbering for many

years. In 1870 he purchased an interest in the mercantile business at Centre-, town, with John Hughes, and two years afterward his partner retired from the firm, and he has since continued the business alone. In 1873 he was appointed postmaster of Centretown, and has since held that office. In 1868 he married Mary, daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Black, of Pine Township, and they have no children. He and wife are members of the Springfield United Presbyterian Church.

JOHN A. GILL, farmer, post-office Centretown, is a son of Hugh and Annie (Anderson) Gill. The father was born in Washington County, Penn., in 1782, and came here in 1798 with his father, William Gill, a native of Ire- land, and a soldier in the Revolutionary War. They settled near Courtney's Mills, in what is now Liberty Township, and William died there in 1832. The father of our subject was a soldier in the War of 1812. He finally settled near Harrisville, Butler Co., Penn., and died there in 1866. His widow died in 1872. Their family consisted of six children, four of whom are still liv- ing: Margaret, Mrs. Joseph Humphrey, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; John A., our subject; Elizabeth A. and Hugh, living on the homestead. The father voted the Democratic ticket in his early days, and afterward joined the Republican party. He paid for his farm by teaming. He hauled the timber for the first bridge across the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh, and for the first steamboat run down the Ohio River. Our subject was born on the homestead March 22, 1823, received his education at the pioneer school-house and a few terms at the public schools. In 1857 he married Sarah E., daughter of Caleb and Sarah Russell, of this township, and by her has eight children: Samuel S., of But- ler County; Hugh R. and William J., merchants of Pittsburgh; M. G., of Kansas; Newton; Otis A., of Pittsburgh; Ira H. and Harry L., at home. In 1847 he came to this county and purchased his present farm of 100 acres, then mostly woodland. He built a saw-mill on Wolf Creek, which he ran for twenty years. He has held the offices of county auditor, supervisor and school director of the township. In 1856 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he has since held with the exception of one or two terms. He votes the Republican ticket, and he and family are members of Amity Presbyterian Church.

JAMES GRACE, farmer, post-office Centretown, is a son of Burchfield and Rebecca (Albin) Grace. The father was born December 1, 1804, in Worth Township; was a member of Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Republican party, and very temperate in principles. He died in May, 1869. Rebecca Albin was his first wife, born in 1805, and died in 1858, leaving six children: John, of Worth Township; Henry L., of Middlesex; William R., of Fairview Township; James, our subject; E. C., was a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, was lieuten- ant of same company, and was killed at the battle of the Wilderness; S.

1023

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

C., member of Company G, Tenth Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, and died in New York after participating in Sherman's march. This family were intensely loyal, there being five brothers in the army at one time, and the eldest, John, was drafted, but was let off on account of having so many brothers there. The second wife of the father was Mrs. Margaret Henderson, who died in 1862, leaving no children. His third wife was Mrs. Hannah Laughlin, and by her he had one child, G. G., now living on the old homestead with his mother. Our subject was born April 17, 1842, received his education at the township schools, and has since been engaged in farming. In 1861 he enlisted in Company G, Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves, and served three years; received a severe wound in his breast at the battle of Gaines Mill. In 1866 he mar- ried Sarah Giebner, daughter of Valentine and Mrs. Annie Albin (Coleman) Giebner, of this township. By this union they have five children: Ephraim E., Harry E., Dewitt G., Annie R. and Ruth May; all at home. Our subject moved onto the present farm in 1868, and has held the offices of school direc- tor and assessor of township. For the last six years he has been secretary of the school board. He is a member of Marion Craig Post, G. A. R., and he and family are members of Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is steward and has been Sunday-school superintendent for many years. He votes the Republican ticket, but is for temperance come which way it will.

ROBERT E. HOUSTON, farmer, post-office Pardoe, is a son of Thomas and Nancy (Adair) Houston, natives of Ireland, who now reside in Findley Town- ship. Our subject is their fourth son, and was born in Findley Township March 16, 1842; received his education at the township schools, and in 1863 enlisted in Company H, Second Battalion, and served seven months. He has mostly been engaged in farming, and in 1874 moved onto his present farm in Wolf Creek Township. In 1873 he married Lizzie M., daughter of James and Margaret (Allen) Montgomery, of Findley Township. By this union they have four children: Montgomery A., Samuel T., James R. and Maggie A. Our subject votes the Democratic ticket, has held the office of assessor of the town- ship, and he and family are members of the Springfield United Presbyterian Church.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 139

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288